Screening for Annonaceous acetogenins in bioactive plant extracts by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

The Annonaceous acetogenins are amenable to analysis by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) using the electrospray positive-ion mode. Under conditions of atmospheric pressure in-source collision-induced dissociation (APICID), the acetogenins reproducibly provided characteristic ion patterns and fragment ions. Accordingly, the presence of these biologically interesting acetogenins and other derivatives in plant extracts and chromatographic fractions can be readily detected by analyzing selected ion chromatograms. LC/MS screening of a bioactive crude methanol-soluble fraction of Rollinia mucosa detected the presence of some 40 known acetogenins in this plant extract, in addition to four new acetogenins of diverse structure. This rapid and relatively uncomplicated selected ionization procedure should also prove suitable for the screening of many other structural families of natural products.